Birthday Reflections

by Crystal Cockman

February 14, 2018

The day that I’m writing this article is my 36^th birthday. January is a time for reflection anyway at the start of a new year, but especially for me as I think about my life up to this point. The fondest of memories I have are being outdoors, and I look ahead to more adventures in the future. Whether hiking, kayaking, hunting, fishing, birdwatching, cycling or just photographing nature, there is always something exciting about getting outside.

I’ve run the 8-mile Uwharrie Mountain Run three times and the 20-mile Uwharrie Mountain Run three times. The first time I ran the 8-mile UMR which was my first trail race ever, it was sleeting when I started, and the creeks were so full that they tied ropes across them to hold on to so they wouldn’t wash you away, and they stationed volunteers at each creek crossing to make sure you made it across. The first year I ran the 20-mile UMR it was 17 degrees when the race began. I’ve ran the 11-mile Eno River Run three times, and the 12-mile Mountains-to-Sea Run three times, one time on an ankle I’d pretty severely sprained a month before.

I’ve climbed the second highest mountain in the lower 48 states, Mount Elbert in Colorado, which is 14,439 feet, starting the hike before dawn and arriving back to my car in early afternoon right before the hail started. I’ve climbed up the backside of Roan Mountain on the Appalachian Trail, with a 3000-foot elevation gain in 3 miles in the pouring down rain. I’ve hiked about 170 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and I hope to hike a lot more of it in the future. I’ve backpacked the full 40-mile length of the Uwharrie Trail twice.

I’ve hunted for deer, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, ducks, woodcock, dove, crow, coyote, and quail in North Carolina and grouse in West Virginia. I’ve caught a 16-inch brook trout in Jackson Creek in Maggie Valley, NC, wild rainbow trout in Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and brown trout on a fly rod in the Frying Pan River in Basalt, Colorado, which is gold medal trout water.

I’ve kayaked multiple different stretches of the Uwharrie River, Little River, South Yadkin River, Rocky River, Mountain Creek, Yadkin-Pee Dee River in the Piedmont, canoed the Waccamaw River, and kayaked the intercoastal waterway at Wrightsville Beach. I’ve kayaked twice through the spider lilies at Landsford Canal State Park in South Carolina on the Catawba River. If you’ve never been, you should definitely check it out, the lilies bloom in late May to early June: https://southcarolinaparks.com/landsford-canal

I’ve been to Carolina Beach State Park, Elk Knob State Park, Eno River State Park, Grandfather Mountain State Park, Hanging Rock State Park, Haw River State Park, Jones Lake State Park, Lake Waccamaw State Park, Morrow Mountain State Park, the former Boone’s Cave State Park, and Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve. I know I have a lot more to see. I’ve camped for a week in Congaree National Park in South Carolina in January- in the middle of a drought such that I could walk right through the middle of old-growth bald cypress swamps.

I’ve had a few adventures in my 36 years, and I hope to have many more. I look forward to fun times outside with good friends, enjoying the beauty of nature and the camaraderie. Another year older and another year wiser, I’ll appreciate this birthday and plan to hike on Saturday to celebrate. When your next birthday comes around, take a minute to reflect on your own journeys, and start planning your next excursion. The great outdoors is out there just waiting for you.